Conventional wisdom often dictates that a five-minute sketch on Saturday Night Live will not be as funny when expanded into a movie. But there are exceptions, chiefly The Blues Brothers (1980) and 1992's Wayne's World. Watching the Aurora, Illinois public-access TV hosts Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) party on for the big screen remains an enjoyable experience, even spinning off a sequel.
Here's five rock-tastic moments from the original film that still make us say "We're not worthy!"
Not Just a Clever Name
When Wayne and Garth show up to local club Gasworks, they're greeted by the gregarious bouncer Tiny, who lets them skip the line after breaking down the bands on the roster for the night. Tiny, of course, is played by the late, great Meat Loaf, who gets one of the best laughs in the movie by reading two amazing band names: Jolly Green Giant, and The Shitty Beatles. ("They suck," he declares.)
READ MORE: Meat Loaf Dead at 74
The Garth Algar Experience
While Wayne's hapless, bespectacled drummer best friend Garth is seen by some as a perpetual sidekick, he gets a great moment to shine when he imagines talking to the pretty blonde crush that makes him want to hurl - complete with interpretive dance set to Jimi Hendrix's immortal "Foxey Lady."
READ MORE: May 1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Reinvent Rock with "Are You Experienced"
It Was Like Lightning
Next to Wayne and Garth, the star of Wayne's World is Wayne's would-be love interest Cassandra (Tia Carrere), frontwoman for the kickass rock band Crucial Taunt. Carrere's rendition of Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz," heard both in the film and on the soundtrack album, is one of the best tracks in the film.
Alice Cooper Comes to Town
A movie like Wayne's World was bound to have a few killer cameos from rock stars, and Alice Cooper's backstage repartee - going on a spirited history of Milwaukee - is gut-busting in the simplicity of watching one of the genre's most shocking icons discussing the city's native heritage in full make-up while holding a riding crop.
READ MORE: February 1973: Alice Cooper Releases "Billion Dollar Babies"
"Rhapsody" in Blue (Car)
Arguably the most famous scene in Wayne's World features Wayne, Garth and friends piled into the Mirthmobile (an AMC Pacer) and enthusiastically headbanged along to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." More than just a fun sight gag, the scene paid tribute to the band's frontman Freddie Mercury, who'd died of AIDS-related complications not three months before. (Mercury had seen the scene and gave it his blessing before he passed.)
Myers held fast against the original request to score the scene with a Guns N' Roses song, and he was righter than anyone could've imagined: reissued in the wake of the film's success, "Bohemian Rhapsody" soared back into the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 2 - seven spots higher than when it was first released. (In a bit of self-reflexive humor, Myers has a cameo in the blockbuster Queen biopic of the same name, insisting the song will never be as popular as it ultimately was.)
READ MORE: November 1975: Queen Hit the Top with "Bohemian Rhapsody"
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